He went into his own office and pulled the door to as far as he dare without actually closing it.
He didn’t like the way this investigation was going. More than anyone else, he wanted a result, but he could see which way the wind was blowing, and he was sure they had got it all wrong.
He sat down and tried to think how he could pull the investigation back onto the right track.
First, he had to speak to Max. He needed to know the outcome of the visit to Ralphie. The corners of his mouth turned down in distaste. Ralph was one of the most unpleasant men he had ever met. He was most certainly a voyeur, and possibly a predator too, although he’d never dug up any proof, and he sure had tried. He was telling the truth when he said he barely knew the man, but the first time he saw him, nosing around his half-sister, he knew that Ralph was a pervert. Even his lovely mate, Tom, suspected him of having unwholesome needs. He pitied the nurses in that hospital, and hoped that Ralph’s personal nurse was either male, or tough as boot leather.
Somewhere along the way he had forgotten to ask Max if he had checked out Ralph’s alibi. Though wherever he said he was, and with whom, it would have been a lie. Ralphie had probably been fingering someone’s washing line. Or, of course, he could have been busy murdering his half-sister because she’d put out for every man in Saltern apart from him.
Carter smiled. Now there was a thought.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Max entered Jackman’s office just before the shift was ending. ‘Charlie called, sir, so I spoke to the Humberside boys. They caught the hit-and-run car on CCTV earlier today, and they’ve pulled the driver. Turns out it was the father of a kid that Ponytail has been getting up close and personal with. The dad had warned him off, but later found him in the garden of their bungalow with a hi-spec camera. Since it was two in the morning and he was outside his daughter’s bedroom, he didn’t react too well. Ralphie ran for it, but Dad took him out, using a pretty heavy SUV crossover. So, nothing to do with us, sir.’
Jackman had expected something along those lines. A degenerate like that rarely got away with it for too long, even if the punishment was meted out by someone outside the law.
‘And his alibi?’
‘His friend seems to have gone AWOL, sir. Can’t track him down at all. I’m wondering if he ever existed, or if Ralph was just giving us the runaround to keep us busy.’
‘Most likely. So, how did it go? Did he give you any reason to suspect that he had been at Suzanne’s that night?’
‘Well, I’d checked the PNC and his profile was not on the National DNA Database, so I took a sample while we were there. He tried to object, told me I needed his written permission, but I explained really nicely that we have every right to take a non-intimate sample because it was necessary for investigating a serious crime. And that was that. At least we can see if he’s on Prof Wilkinson’s list from the crime scene.’
‘Long list, unfortunately. And he’ll most likely be there because he’s family, sort of.’
‘Yeah, I guess, but at least we’ve got him on the database now, so if he ever tries anything pervy again, we can tie him in.’ Max sniffed. ‘He’s a rum one, sir. But Rosie and I decided that we can’t see him killing Suzanne. He seemed genuinely cut up about her death, and to be honest, I don’t think he’d have the bottle to go up against a woman like his sister.’
‘Did Charlie tell you that we suspect her of being a domestic abuser?’
‘Yes, sir. I just feel for that poor sod of a husband. Looks like that crash took him out of a world of pain.’
‘Bit of an extreme way to leave her, Max.’ He grimaced. ‘Still, get off home, and thanks for what you’ve done.’
‘No probs, sir. I was sad there was no sangria, but Scunthorpe isn’t famous for it.’
‘And you did get a few hours out for a drive with Rosie.’ Jackman grinned.
‘Has to be some perks to this job, sir. See you tomorrow.’
As Max left, Carter walked in. ‘Can I request a few hours off tomorrow, sir? The marina have rung and said that they want to bring the lifting gear in tomorrow to put the Eva May back on the water.’
Jackman saw the light in Carter’s eyes, and immediately agreed. This was a very big day for Carter, and he’d want to be there to see the process through. Then it struck him that it would be a very traumatic occasion too. He’d be alone, instead of with the lads who had worked alongside him. ‘Ask Marie if she’d like to go with you. She’s a good friend, isn’t she? I think she’d appreciate being there for such a special event.’
Carter gave him an odd look.
‘I’ll ask her, and thank you. I appreciate it.’
‘Get home, Carter. No late night tonight.’
He nodded. ‘Yes, I’ve got a few last-minute jobs to do on the old girl, so I’ll take you up on that. Good night, sir.’
Jackman sighed. He really must remember to tell the super that the directive about relaxing formalities was a definite no-no in Saltern-le-Fen.
*
Robbie was certainly going to have a late night. He had spent two hours at the cottage, and was only halfway through all the things he wanted to check. He’d already skimmed the reports, so he wasn’t interested in what was in the evidence store. He was looking for different stuff. Things that told him about their everyday lives. He had always believed that Suzanne would tell him what really happened, and if he couldn’t see her body, then he’d look through her home and see if he could hear any echoes from her time there.
Robbie took the old place room by room, carefully looking at anything that told him how the Hollands had lived. To begin with it had felt strange, almost ghoulish, peeking into the home of two dead people. Then it felt immoral, as if he had no right to be there. Then it felt eerie, being in a house full of ghosts. Finally he pushed all those thoughts away, and went back to being a detective simply checking out a crime scene.
He opened cupboards, pulled out drawers, read post-it notes stuck on the fridge, noted what book titles were on the shelves and looked in the bathroom cabinet to see what tablets and medicines they took.
He checked the pockets of Tom’s jackets and he looked at the kind of jewellery that Suzanne wore. Then he sat down on the bed and wondered if he had learned anything useful at all. Maybe he would have to go the evidence storage route after all. At least there he would find all the basic stuff, laptops, phones, address books and so on.
He stretched and decided to call it a day. He was already losing the light. He looked at Tom’s side of the king-size bed with a feeling of real sadness. Tom’s bedside cabinet looked very much like his own, with a clock, a coaster, a phone and a book.